Michigan State Opens Season on Monday Night, Hosting Monmouth at the Breslin Center

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team opens the 2024-25 season on Monday, Nov. 4, hosting Monmouth University at the Breslin Center (7 p.m.).

The will air live on BTN+, with Jack Stager, Ethan Hunter and Marin Klein calling all of the action. The Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard state-wide and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst, and Blake Froling is the studio host. The game can also be heard on channels 161 or 197 on SiriusXM and on the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

Michigan State finished the 2023-24 season with a 20-15 overall record, including a 10-10 mark in the Big Ten Conference to finish tied for sixth place in the league.
The Spartans were selected for the NCAA Tournament for the 26th-straight season, the longest streak in Big Ten Conference history, the third-longest in NCAA history and officially recognized by the NCAA as the longest active streak.
MSU beat Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to North Carolina in the second round.
The Spartans will replace four starters who accounted for 61.7 percent of the team's scoring last year, 48.6 percent of the team's rebounds and 64.2 percent of the team's assists, led by guard Tyson Walker (All-Big Ten Second Team).
MSU returns three players who started games last year, led senior guard Jaden Akins, who finished fourth on the team in scoring with 10.4 points per game while adding 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and tying for the team lead in 3-pointers made (64) … He was the only player to start all 35 games last year.
Michigan State also returns seven letterwinners, and welcomes five newcomers, two transfers and three freshmen.
Junior guard Tre Holloman emerged as a key player in the rotation as a sophomore, averaging 19.7 minutes per game while contributing 5.7 ppg, finishing second on the team with 2.4 apg and leading the team in 3-point field goal percentage (42.5%).
Junior center Carson Cooper started the final four games of the season and appeared in all 35 games, averaging 3.4 points and 4.4 rebounds overall.

MSU Adds Two Transfers

MSU welcomes in a pair of transfers in senior forward Frankie Fidler (Omaha) and senior center Szymon Zapala (Longwood/Utah State).
Fidler, a 6-7, 217-pound forward, spent three years at Omaha and was named First Team All-Summit League in 2023-24 after averaging 20.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Fidler started all 33 games for the Mavericks, connecting on 45.2 percent of his field goals, 35.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and a team-best 85.4 percent of his free throws (216-of-253).
Zapala comes to Michigan State after one season at Longwood University in Virginia, helping guide the team to a 21-14 record as the Lancers won the Big South Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
A 7-0, 240-pound center who hails from Poland, Zapala averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in 16.7 minutes, connecting on 62.9 percent of his shots from the floor and starting in 23 of 35 games.

Three Newcomers Make Up Freshman Class

The Spartans' recruiting class has been recognized nationally as one of the top-20 in the country (No. 16 by 247 Sports and No. 19 by ON3 Sports)
The class includes guards Jase Richardson (the son of former Michigan State All-American Jason Richardson) and Kur Teng, along with forward Jesse McCulloch.

Exhibition Recap

The Spartans played a pair of exhibition games ahead of the 2024-25 season, winning 70-53 at Northern Michigan on Oct. 13 and posting an 85-67 win over Ferris State on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at the Breslin Center.
Freshman guard Jase Richardson scored 11 points and sophomore forward Xavier Booker had 10 points as 11 different players scored for the Spartans.
MSU shot 43.1 percent from the floor (22-of-51), including 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the second half, and hit 47.1 percent of its 3-point field goals (8-of-17).
The exhibition game was the first visit for 30th-year Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo to his alma mater … Izzo graduated from Northern Michigan in 1977.
In the Ferris State game, senior forward Frankie Fidler scored 14 points and was one of three players to score in double figures, joined by sophomore forward Coen Carr (12 points, four rebounds) and Booker (10 points), while junior forward Jaxon Kohler had nine points and 11 rebounds as 11 different players scored for MSU.

About Monmouth

Monmouth went 18-15 last year and posted a 10-8 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association, tying for sixth place in its second year in the league.
Similar to Michigan State, the Hawks took an overseas trip this past summer, spending 10 days in Italy and visiting four cities … Monmouth won all three games it played in Italy.
The Hawks were selected to finish in eighth place in the CAA this year.
Redshirt sophomore Jaret Valencia, who averaged 8.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and blocked 55 shots, was selected to the Preseason All-CAA Second Team, while junior guard Jack Collins, who is the team's top returner in points (10.7 ppg), rebounds (6.5 rpg) and assists (2.2 apg), was an honorable mention selection.
Monmouth Head Coach King Rice is in his 14th year at the helm of the program and has guided the Hawks through three conferences, from the Northeast Conference to the Metro Atlantic Athletic (where his teams made back-to-back NIT appearances in 2016 and 2017) and to the CAA … Rice played at North Carolina under Dean Smith from 1987-91.

Against Monmouth, the Colonial Athletic Association

Monday's game will be the first ever meeting between Michigan State and Monmouth.
Michigan State has played five games all-time against teams that currently make up the Colonial Athletic Association, carrying a 4-1 record in those games.
Michigan State's last win against a team from the CAA was a 99-55 win over Stony Brook in December last season at the Breslin Center.
The Spartans are 1-0 against Delaware and 1-1 against Northeastern, the loss an 81-73 decision at the Breslin Center on Dec. 18, 2016.

Michigan State Opens Season on Monday Night, Hosting Monmouth at the Breslin Center

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Xavier Booker

Coen Carr

Carson Cooper

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jesse McCulloch

Jase Richardson

Kur Teng

Tyson Walker

Szymon Zapala

Michigan State Opens Season on Monday Night, Hosting Monmouth at the Breslin Center

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Xavier Booker

Coen Carr

Carson Cooper

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jesse McCulloch

Jase Richardson

Kur Teng

Tyson Walker

Szymon Zapala

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